The Happiest Woman at Guantanamo
This week, I’ve been at the US naval base and Joint Task Force Operations command in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
There are dozens of stories to share, and I’ll be writing more about my experiences at Guantanamo both here on CollazoProjects and on the Matador Network in the coming weeks. In fact, you can check out two pieces I’ve already written– Sweet Digs, Harry Potter and the Real Chamber of Secrets, and 5 Things You Should Know About Guantanamo — to start getting a sense of what’s been happening here.
In the meantime, I’d like to introduce you to the happiest woman at Guantanamo.
Sam, the assistant manager of the kitchen responsible for preparing all detainee meals–not to mention galley meals for troopers–is a Korean American contractor who has been working on Guantanamo for five years.
As most terms of service at Guantanamo–military or contractor– are one year or less, Sam definitely has some seniority around here. And though she gets off the base every six months or so for vacation, the island fever that one might expect to set in after so much time here doesn’t seem to affect her in the least.
She’s quite possibly one of the most positive people I’ve met, and the troopers I met confirmed that they’ve never seen her with anything other than a smile. So… meet the happiest woman at Guantanamo, who has no plans to leave any time soon.
October 25th, 2008 at 8:06 am
What a beautiful and infectious smile! I couldn’t help but smile myself while watching her.
October 25th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Doesn’t that smiling face just make her beautiful and make anyone seeing it have to smile back. I love your images!
October 25th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Tanya and DES: Thanks for watching the video! Believe it or not, her natural smile dimmed just a bit when I turned on the camera, so imagine that 100 watt smile magnified by about 10!
By the way, I haven’t forgotten about the video piece, DES; I’m just recovering from the trip! I plan to get that article up tonight.
October 26th, 2008 at 1:37 am
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October 26th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
How very sweet she is! Thanks for posting the interview.
October 26th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Her inner beauty definitely shines through!
October 30th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Fantastic smile. I’d love to opportunity to shoot it.